Man jailed after police officers find explosive substances in his home

A Sunderland Open University graduate who bought bomb-making equipment off the internet for a "very dangerous chemistry set" to use in experiments at his family home has been jailed.

- by Karon Kelly

Andrew Tait, 42, had a haul of chemicals, battery packs, cables and manuals about explosives and detonators among the "laboratory" apparatus at the house in Sunderland.

Newcastle Crown Court heard a collection of illegal and professional-grade fireworks were also seized when the property was raided by the police, with support from Explosive Ordnance Safety Personnel, on April 26.

Tait, of Pennywell Road, Sunderland, admitted two charges of having an explosive substance on the basis he had the equipment for "experimentation".

Judge Graeme Robinson sentenced him to 12 months behind bars and said: "You appear to have been motivated by an interest in chemistry following your obtaining a degree from the Open University.

"You wished to conduct experiments but you must have been aware that the chemicals in combination could be used to create explosions, that was clear from the literature you had obtained."

The judge said the substances "collectively posed a real danger".

The court heard Tait has no previous convictions for weapons offences, but in 2008 he was given an indefinite Imprisonment for Public Protection, with a tariff of 807 days, for violence and was released in 2020.